Altered Courses
by CrazyHayniac
Summary: Have you ever wondered how one change to something could affect all the events that follow it? What if just one small change altered the course of events that follow? What if 'The Way of the Dragon' (3x8 or 4x8 via netflix) had gone differently? How would that have affected the rest of the season? Full summary inside to avoid spoilers for those who haven't seen it all.
1. Chapter 1

**Full Summary/ Explanation:**

What of Evie hadn't lost her tail? What if things had been ever so slightly different that night so Evie was still a mermaid at the end of it? How would that have altered the rest of the season.

I, like others, have a problem with Evie losing her tail in season 3. Personally, I loved Evie as a mermaid, which I think is evident through a couple things in my series of one/two-shots, Mako Shorts [chapters 32-34 mostly]. This is my somewhat AU reenvisioned season 3 if Evie hadn't lost her tail that night and how the rest of the season would have been different were she still a mermaid. I'll also change a few other things I wasn't all that happy with. This starts in the middle of episode 8.

There will be some things I gloss over through just explaining what happens during that scene or series of scenes where I don't think anything really would have changed instead of writing out all the lines from those parts. I know there are others from other sides of the fandom like instagram and tumblr who weren't happy with Evie losing her tail, so here I am to fix that.

And before I start, I'd like to give a shoutout to threemine2013 for coming up with the title 'Altered Courses' as it fits the story perfectly because I'm altering the course of events for the second half of season 3.

 **Chapter 1: The Way of the Dragon**

It was the night of the full moon. It was the first full moon since Weilan had come to stay and the first since the water dragon had appeared. Evie was planning on meeting Ondina and Mimmi in Rita's grotto to go fight the water dragon with her moon ring and every other moon ring in the pod.

As Evie made her way over to Rita's, she saw Zac and Weilan talking. She trusted Zac, but after what she had seen between them on Mako, she was still a little suspicious. She watched them from where she was for a minute before Zac dove into the canal and headed out to sea; Evie made her way over to Weilan once Zac was gone. The two shared a brief confrontation in which Evie figured out that Zac was going to fight the water dragon.

"The moon pool," she breathed, realizing that was where Zac had gone. Weilan tried to call after Evie to get her to stop even as Evie went to dive into the canal as well. Weilan's voice fell on deaf ears as Evie made it to the water and headed to open sea and ultimately the moon pool.

CHCHCH

When Evie got to the moon pool, she found it empty. There was no sign of Zac nor the water dragon. Evie pulled herself out of the moon pool and dried off to wait for Zac.

She leaned against the rock, as uncomfortable as it was, and waited for any sign of Zac or the water dragon. As Evie sat waiting, she watched the sky grow darker and darker knowing it was getting closer to its peak over Mako.

CHCHCH

Meanwhile on the mainland, Cam got to Zac's bungalow expecting to find Evie. When she wasn't there, Cam pulled out his phone to call Evie and see where she was. Before Cam could even dial Evie's number, Cam's girlfriend, Carly, walked in.

After a brief discussion, the two found that their best friends had similar ideas in sending them to keep the other busy; those two really were meant for each other. Cam and Carly couldn't let the pizzas they had brought go to waste, so they decided that they needed to eat them. The date night they had both had to cancel ended up turning into a movie night at Zac's bungalow.

CHCHCH

Zac sat out on the reef waiting for the water dragon to appear. The pod was on the other side of Mako waiting in the shadows; this left him in the clear to lure the dragon into the moon pool. It would have nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. Hopefully that would allow Zac to use turning the tide against the water dragon to defeat it.

When the dragon appeared, Zac went under the water and used his powers to aggravate it. Once he could tell that it was annoyed, Zac took off towards the moon pool with the water dragon right on his tail.

CHCHCH

The sun had long since disappeared from the sky. The night was growing darker as the pod waited on the far side of Mako.

"Evie should be here by now," Mimmi spoke after looking around and not seeing Evie.

"Get your mind in the game, Mimmi," Ondina sighed. They had far greater things to worry about than where Evie was and whether she was there with the pod or not. Mimmi continued to look around as Ondina again spoke. "Veridia." She drew the attention of the head of the mermaid council. "The moon has risen. Why are we waiting here?"

Veridia explained that by waiting in the shadows for the water dragon, they would have the element of suprise. When Ondina questioned how Veridia knew that, she explained that the information had come from Weilan.

That didn't sound right. Ondina turned to Mimmi and they shared a confused look.

CHCHCH

Evie began to wonder if Zac was ever going to get to the moon pool as she watched the sky grow darker. She started pacing around the cavern to pass the time while she waited for him to get there.

A minute later, Evie stopped and looked down to the water. A few bubbles were rising in the water. She saw the familiar form of her boyfriend in the water, and he soon surfaced looking around the moon pool and its cavern frantically.

"Evie!" he exclaimed, seeing her on the land portion of the cavern. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to–" Evie was cut off by rumbling. The water dragon slowly materialized before their eyes. Evie's eyes widened as she took in the water dragon.

"Evie, get back and stay there," Zac instructed. His voice was shaky. No one else was supposed to be there. It was supposed to be just him against the water dragon. Now he had to make sure Evie didn't get hurt as well as keeping himself safe as best as he could. Taking a deep breath, Zac peaked over his shoulder to see Evie shrinking back against the wall.

The water dragon gave a low growl and moved closer to Zac.

CHCHCH

Out on the far side of Mako, Mimmi's eyes almost glazed over. "Zac's with the dragon in the moon pool."

"Weilan sent us here so Zac could fight it," Ondina spoke. The duo sunk beneath the water and swam off towards the moon pool.

CHCHCH

Zac tried not to let his fear show despite the racing of his heart. "You want a piece of me, Lizard Breath?" Zac spoke.

The water dragon seemed to consider him for a second before sending its fire breath his way. Zac defended himself using turning the tide. The water dragon recoiled but sent more fire Zac's way a minute later. Again, Zac sent the fire back.

Evie couldn't take it any longer. She couldn't let Zac do this on his own. "Leave him alone," she spoke, taking a few steps forward. She raised her right hand and pointed her moon ring at the water dragon, putting all her energy into controlling it and attacking the dragon.

"Evie, no!" Zac exclaimed. The dragon may not have done anything to Joe and David in Joe's boat, but Evie was a mermaid even though she was dry now.

The power drained from Evie's moon ring and she couldn't do anymore. She felt weak and lightheaded. She slowly stumbled back to the wall as the dragon moved closer.

Zac didn't know what to do; he was frozen in place. He couldn't use turning the tide from where he was with the dragon looming over him. The water dragon sniffed at Evie as Zac looked on in horror having no idea what it would do. And then, it backed off and slowly shrank back down into the water.

"I don't feel so good," Evie spoke, her words slurring together.

Zac turned around in time to see Evie fall back against the rocks before sliding to the ground against them.

"Evie!" Zac exclaimed. He hoisted himself out of the water and picked her head up to support it as Ondina and Mimmi swam in. "Evie, please wake up. Please be okay. I can't lose you," Zac pleaded quietly as Evie's tail appeared. "Evie," he repeated, his voice weak and desperate.

"Zac," Evie coughed, her eyes fluttering open.

"Evie," he breathed in relief. He pulled her into a hug as best as he could while they both had tails.

"Ow," Evie gasped when Zac's hands touched her back.

Zac shifted so he could see Evie's back and winced. There were several gashed from the rocks on her skin.

"We need to get you back to Rita's and bandaged up." Zac slowly slid into the water and helped Evie in. Ondina and Mimmi did what they could to help; it was evident Evie was in a lot of pain.

Evie winced as the salt water got in the open cuts on her back, making them sting more. The group made their way back to the grotto as quickly as they could.

When they got there, Zac hoisted himself out of the water to help Evie out. "I'll go get Rita," Zac spoke, rushing through drying his tail. Mimmi and Ondina gave small nods, and Zac quickly ran up the stairs having gotten his tail dried.

Evie worked to dry her tail while Ondina and Mimmi pulled themselves out of the pool. While they dried their tails, they tried to think of something comforting they could say to Evie, but neither could think of anything that sounded right. They all took longer to dry their tails than Zac had and were just making their way to the main portion of the grotto when Zac came rushing down with Rita right behind him.

"Let me see it," Rita said, reaching Evie. Evie turned around and pulled her hair to the side and out of the way. "It's worse than I thought. Zac, there's a first aid kit in the bathroom by the bookcase, can you please get it?"

Zac nodded and raced back up the stairs. He made a frantic run down the hall to the bathroom and quickly found the first aid kit; he raced back down to the grotto just as fast.

When Zac got back to the grotto with the first aid kit, he got his first good look at Evie's back. The rock in the moon pool cavern had taken a toll on the top of her back that hadn't been covered by her dress as well as what had. Some parts of her dress had been ripped and some blood had soaked onto it.

Zac handed the first aid kit over to Rita and looked back to Evie mournfully. "Zac, I'm going to have to ask you to go wait upstairs," Rita spoke.

Zac sighed deeply but nodded. The only way to properly treat and bandage all the wounds on Evie's back would be for her to take her dress off; it'd be inappropriate if he stayed. Catching Evie's eye before he left, he tried to give her an apologetic look as he headed out of the grotto.

In Rita's living room, Zac played with his phone anxiously. He spun it around almost like one would with a pen while in thought. He stood and paced around the room before repeating the process. He did this several times over before Mimmi came up to let him know he could come back down to the grotto.

When the siblings got to the grotto, Zac went to sit next to Evie while Mimmi sat next to Ondina. Zac could see the bandages that wrapped around Evie's torso. He placed his hand on her thigh to try and show Evie how sorry he was. They sat in silence for several minutes until they heard the bookcase opening.

Weilan came down the stairs and briefly caught sight of Zac. "Hey Zac, what happ–end?" Weilan's voice suddenly dropped when she took in the somber expressions on everyone's faces. "What's going on?" she asked, making her way down the stairs.

Ondina gave her a fake smile. "Well let's see, because of your hairbrained idea, Evie ended up getting hurt and both she and Zac almost lost their tails."

Weilan looked over to Zac and Evie and noticed for the first time the bandages around Evie that showed above her dress. A rock seemed to settle in Weilan's stomach. "Evie, I'm so sorry," Weilan said, her stomach turning in knots.

"This could have been much worse," Rita started. "What happened was bad enough, but you are all lucky nothing more happened." Rita's stern gaze lingered on Zac and Weilan; she gave Evie a stern look as well, but softened a bit.

"I need to get home," Evie spoke. She stood and winced. Rita had bandaged her well and had used a healing cream akin to triple antibiotic ointment to help the wounds heal more quickly, but she'd still be in pain for several days because of them.

"I'll walk you," Zac offered, getting up and following behind Evie.

There was a part of Evie that just wanted Zac to leave her alone. It was him lying to her that had resulted in the events of the night, but she'd lied to him as well, and she'd much rather have the company for the walk home.  
Rita followed behind them up the stairs. When they reached the main level, Zac continued towards the door leaving Evie and Rita alone for a minute. The two shared a hug as Rita did her best to hug Evie with nothing more than a feather light touch. "If anything happens or you want me to explain some version of events to your dad, let me know," Rita spoke softly as she and Evie ended their hug.

Evie gave a small nod and went to follow Zac.

CHCHCH

Ondina watched as Zac, Evie, and Rita left. When they were gone, she stood and squared up to Weilan. "Really, nice going," she spoke, her voice ingrained with harsh sarcasm. "Zac and Evie may have been spared from losing their tails, but Evie got hurt because of you."

"Ondina," Mimmi tried to warn.

"I didn't mean for this to happen," Weilan said.

"Maybe not, but it did. Maybe it doesn't seem as bad to you because you weren't here when we put the bandages on Evie. Her back in kind of torn up thanks to you."

"If it worked and Zac had defeated the dragon, we wouldn't be having this conversation," Weilan rebuttled.

"No, but in case you didn't notice, it didn't work and Evie got hurt because of it," Ondina replied, her voice cold enough to freeze over the South Pacific on the hottest day of the summer.

Weilan bit her lip, feeling the tears building up in her eyes. She didn't mean for anything bad to happen; she was trying to protect the pod. "Zac was the only one who stood a chance against the dragon."

"Maybe, maybe not, but we'll never know now, will we?"

That did it. Weilan turned and ran into the pool in the grotto. There was a splash as she dove in and swam away to escape.

CHCHCH

Zac and Evie walked in silence back to her house. Zac wished there was something he could do to undo Evie getting hurt. When they got to her house, he gave her a loving kiss on her forehead, promising that he'd see her the following day. She gave a nod and they parted ways.

A/N: Now that I've come to the end of the first chapter, there's something else I should explain. I kept the layout for scene changes basically the same as it was originally in the show, so that's where a lot of he back and forth stuff comes from. Some of the lines included in this and following chapters, while different because of the altered course of events, will be similar to those of the show.

So what did you think of these altered courses? I'd really like to know what you thought and how you think I could have improved upon the rewriting of this chapter, or how I could make sure to do the following in a better way if this felt lacking.

I'm not sure how often I'll be getting to update this as it's going to involve rewatching the episodes several times over, first to take notes on how things could be different and then probably at least once or twice more while I'm writing it to get lines among other things that don't need to change much right.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and I really hope you enjoyed it. Until next time,

-CrazyHayniac


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Reversal of Fortune**

The morning following the full moon, Zac was sure nothing could make him feel worse than he already did. Evie had gotten hurt because he'd tried to defeat the dragon and had kept things from her. He realized how stupid he'd been to do that.

Zac sighed deeply as he left to meet up with Evie before school.

CHCHCH

It seemed that no matter what Evie did or how she moved, her back hurt. She wasn't sure how many cuts and scrapes there were, but every movement felt painful to some extent. She didn't want to have to explain to her dad or anyone else who didn't know the secret what had happened.

Instead of wearing the sleeveless shirt she'd planned to wear, Evie found a darker, loose shirt that wouldn't add any pressure to her back and would easily hide the bandages.

CHCHCH

A little while later, Zac met Evie at her house to walk to school. "How do you feel?" he asked softly as they started down the street.

"My back really hurts, but I took something for it this morning. Hopefully the pain will dull soon."

"Evie, I'm so sorry. I was just trying to protect you and keep you and all the other mermaids safe and I—" he rambled.

"We _both_ lied to each other," Evie cut him off. "There's nothing we can do about it now anyway," Evie sighed.

Zac nodded and they continued in silence.

CHCHCH

Ondina and Mimmi sat in the grotto while Zac and Evie headed to school. Ondina paced the floor, pausing briefly only to make a slow turn in the other direction.

"You know what!" Ondina exclaimed, breaking the silence as she stopped and turned to Mimmi. "Weilan has been nothing since she got her and brought the dragon with her."

Mimmi sighed. "We can't be sure the dragon actually followed her here. And even though Evie did get hurt, as terrible as it was, Weilan had good intentions," Mimmi insisted.

"But she still lied to all of us and the mermaid council. Evie got hurt, for crying out loud," Ondina continued as, unknown to her, Weilan started down the stairs. "And now that Weilan's plan failed, the dragon is still out there ready to attack next full moon!" Ondina exclaimed.

"Ondina!" Mimmi tried to cut her off.

"C'mon, you know I'm right, Mimmi. If Weilan hangs around until the next full moon, what will happen then? She'll come up with another brainless plan and we'll all get hurt. Or worse, lose out tails?"

"Ondina, she's—"

"No, Mimmi," Ondina cut her off. "Weilan has only caused problems since she got here. First there was flinging David across the jetty and now with the dragon. The best thing she could do now is leave."

As Ondina finished speaking, Weilan stomped down the stairs from where she had stopped. Weilan grabbed her backpack and shot a glare over to Ondina as she passed by on her way back out.

Ondina pursed her lips as Weilan walked past her. She turned to Mimmi once Weilan was gone. "You could have said something."

Mimmi sighed since she had tried to tell Ondina that Weilan was there, but, as always, Ondina had ignored her. Mimmi shook her head and turned to go to the other side of the room.

CHCHCH

A few minutes after leaving Evie's house, Zac and Evie met Cam and Carly along one of the paths. Cam and Carly sat on a bench waiting for them. As Zac and Evie approached, Cam and Carly stood up.

"Hey Evie," Carly spoke, her voice soft and cautious as she wasn't entirely sure what to say after hearing what had happened the night before. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

Evie shrugged. "A little better now. I guess the pain reliever I took is starting to set in," she spoke.

While the girls talked, Cam shot Zac an unsure look, his eyebrows raised and lips pursed in a straight line. Zac motioned Cam over and spoke, keeping his voice hushed. "I don't know what to say to Evie," he started. "I feel really bad but don't know what more to say without repeating myself."

"I'm sure she knows you're sorry," Cam replied, keeping his voice just as quiet.

"Are you ready to go?" Evie asked, breaking Zac and Cam's momentary silence.

"Yeah, they agreed. As they walked the rest of the way to school, Zac took Evie's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze trying once again to show her how sorry he was.

CHCHCH

After leaving the grotto, Weilan neglected to go to school. Instead, Weilan made her way to a quiet pond. She walked across the wooden walkway surrounded by lush, green trees.

Her backpack hung over one shoulder as she considered what she wanted to do while standing on the walkway. Glancing around, Weilan eventually decided to make her way to a small jetty with a bench and a roof built over the structure.

On the bench, Weilan sat with her arms crossed over her chest, looking out towards the houses surrounding the area, focusing on little else.

"I hope the fish are not taking the day off like you," a voice spoke.

Weilan looked up as the man spoke; he seemed somewhat familiar and she eyed him suspiciously.

"Uncle Shen, remember. From market," he spoke, a bright, warm smile on his face.

"Hi," Weilan replied, looking up to meet his eyes briefly before turning away, her arms still folded over her chest.

"No school today?" Uncle Shen asked.

"Free period," Weilan lied. She'd heard enough from Ondina about how she messed up, she didn't need to hear it from Zac and Evie as well.

"Oh," Uncle Shen said, setting his things down. "How'd puzzle box work out for you?" he asked, recalling the last time he had seen Weilan. "Did you solve it?" he added.

"Still a work in progress," Weilan replied, her voice monotone. She wasn't in the mood for talking.

"Some problem not so easy to solve. Some take time," Uncle Shen nodded. "Why have I not seen you at shop lately?" he asked while reaching down for his things. "New stock arrive. I give discount to regular customers."

"Yeah, well, I've been kind of busy messing things up for everybody." She looked down. "Maybe you'll have better luck with the fish. I'll see you around." Weilan got up and started walking away.

Uncle Shen looked down. He was sure there was something wrong; maybe he could help. "Oh, my eyesight not so good anymore. Can you help me tie the hook?"

Weilan stopped and considered staying or going for a moment. She turned back to Uncle Shen. He had a big smile on his face and gave her a reassuring nod of agreement. If she stayed, Weilan wouldn't have to face Evie or anyone else for a little while longer, so she decided to stay.

CHCHCH

After Weilan had stormed out of the grotto, because of what she overheard Ondina saying, Mimmi had gone to the main level of the house to give Ondina some space. They'd been best friends since Mimmi had joined the Mako pod so Mimmi was well aware of Ondina's temper.

When Mimmi returned, she found Ondina sitting on the stone bench. A magazine had been tossed to the side and Ondina was fidgeting with her fingers and nails.

"Are you going to sit there all day?" Mimmi asked, walking down the stairs. "You can't just sit here and sulk forever." Mimmi paused as she went to sit across from Ondina. "I'm sure Evie's feeling pretty down right now. We should try to do something to take her mind off everything."

"How?"

"We could make her some Arctic Marshmallow. Evie really likes that."

"How is dessert going to help?"

"I've seen a couple movies where people eat ice-cream after a break-up; maybe this could be something like it."

"But it won't _really_ help," Ondina countered, standing and walking across the room.

"Okay, then what should we do. It's not like we can go back in time and stop Evie from going to Mako."

"You know about a thousand spells and potions; don't you know one that could, I don't know, heal her back faster or alleviate the pain or something?" Ondina threw her arms up in desperation. She looked back to Mimmi to find a small smile forming on her best friend's face. "You know something."

"There's this cream you can make. In the Northern Pod it's used mostly is you happen to cut yourself on ice or something, but I'm sure it can work for Evie too."

"What are you waiting for? Let's go get everything we need!" Ondina exclaimed. Mimmi smiled and shook her head as she followed Ondina to the grotto's pool.

CHCHCH

Weilan and Uncle Shen sat at the bench as they had been before. Weilan held a mug of tea that Uncle Shen had given her. Uncle Shen held his fishing pole and slowly reeled the line in.

After a couple minutes, Uncle Shen set his fishing pole aside to pour himself a mug of tea. As he got his own tea, Uncle Shen told Weilan about where he had gotten it to try and make conversation. While slowly sipped his tea, Uncle Shen noticed how Weilan was looking off into the distance.

"Something on your mind?" Uncle Shen asked.

Weilan pursed her lips and looked to her hands in her lap

Knowing something must be wrong and hoping he could help, Uncle Shen reached down to a small covered pan he had and pulled out some bread. "A problem shared. . ." he trailed off as he broke the bread into two pieces, "is a problem halved," he finished, giving Weilan some of the bread.

Thought it was a bit reluctantly, Weilan took the bread Uncle Shen offered her. After a couple moments of consideration, she spoke, "There's a problem my friends and I have been . . . dealing with," Weilan started vaguely. "I tried to fix it, but one of my friends got hurt pretty badly," Weilan trailed off, looking up to meet Uncle Shen's gaze.

Uncle Shen took a deep breath before he spoke, "If you were trying to help, I'm sure your friend will forgive you."

Weilan shook her head and turned away. "No she won't. Not for this," Weilan's voice broke. "I made a huge mistake and I don't see how she can _ever_ forgive me," she finished, tears now falling from her eyes.

"Ever is a long time to wait. I'm sure your friend will forgive you," Uncle Shen repeated.

"No," Weilan sniffled as a few more tears escaped her eyes. "I can't go to her. She probably hates me. Right now I'd do anything to change what I did so it never happened. And," Weilan sniffled once again. "I want to tell her how sorry I am for letting it happen, but I don't think I can." Weilan sucked in a deep breath to try and even out her breathing. "If I just disappeared, the problem could come with me."

"You mean to run away?" Uncle Shen spoke, knowing that's what she really meant. Weilan turned and looked over to him.

CHCHCH

After a couple hours of swimming around to find the ingredients they knew they needed, Ondina and Mimmi returned to the grotto. All the remaining things they hadn't found while on their swim they knew Rita had.

Ondina and Mimmi lay out all the ingredients they had just found for the cream on the table in the grotto. They then went and found everything else they needed.

"Like with the Arctic Marshmallow, this needs to be precise," Mimmi explained as she set the last of the things out on the table.

"So what, you don't want my help?" Ondina asked, looking over to Mimmi who moved her head to meet Ondina's eye.

"Well, not per se, but it needs to be exact, so no making it on your own."

"All right," Ondina agreed as she and Mimmi got to work.

While working on the cream, Ondina and Mimmi talked during the time they waited to be able to add the next ingredient.

"You know, Weilan was just trying to help when she taught Zac how to use Turning the Tide and sent him to the moon pool to fight the water dragon," Mimmi said.

"Yeah, so?"

"The point it, maybe she should have talked to us about it, but she was trying to help get rid of the dragon. C'mon, Ondina, everyone makes mistakes every once in awhile. Even you."

"Me, no, I have never made a mistake."

"The Arctic Marshmallow?"

Ondina sighed, finally giving in. "Okay, you're right. She was just trying to help. And I guess if Evie hadn't been there, maybe it could have worked."

"Good. Now that we're on the same page, hand me the vial with the seafoam green liquid in it." Ondina laughed as she handed the vial over to Mimmi.

CHCHCH

Weilan and Uncle Shen sat on the bench looking out to the water a little while later. Uncle Shen had been silent the last few minutes to let what he had said sink in for Weilan.

"You know," he began, turning to face her. "A long time ago in China my family lend me money to start shop." Uncle Shen paused as he recalled the memory. "I was not very smart," he gave a slight laugh; his speech slowed as he continued, "shop failed. I was so ashamed I run away."

"You look like you've done fine," Weilan spoke.

"I'm much smarter now than I was then," Uncle Shen said, giving a light chuckle. "But, I do still regret running away."

"Well, I won't be running away," Weilan countered. "It's more like," she trailed off, "a strategic withdrawal," she finished.

Uncle Shen once again met Weilan's gaze and sighed. "You can not run away from problem, Weilan. They follow you like shadow. You need to turn and face it. You must be strong, like water," Uncle Shen finished, bringing his hand down on his leg for emphasis.

Weilan blinked at Uncle Shen, "Water's not strong. It's weak; easily manipulated."

"No," Uncle Shen spoke. "Water is not weak. Water is the most powerful force on earth. A river can wear away rock and create canyon. Waves can change the shape of continents. But it also had beauty," Uncle Shen paused. "Like you," he added, looking over to her and giving her a big smile.

Weilan turned and gave Uncle Shen a weak smile before looking away again. "You've been in the sun too long, Uncle Shen," Weilan laughed.

Uncle Shen let out a laugh as well. "Maybe you are right. We have been out here for a long time." Uncle Shen leaned forward to put the cover back on the tin with the bread in it. He handed that to Weilan and packed away the rest of his things. "Can you help me bring these things back to my shop?" he asked.

Weilan nodded and was handed a few more things Uncle Shen had packed away. A few minutes later, they were heading back to the shop.

CHCHCH

Having finished making the cream at Rita's, Ondina and Mimmi headed for school, hoping to find Evie during a break. The halls were mostly abandoned when they got there; only a few students getting things from their lockers lingered in the halls. Deducting that it wasn't a break, Ondina and Mimmi headed towards Rita's office.

"Ondina, Mimmi, what are you doing here?"

Ondina and Mimmi turned, hearing Rita's voice behind them. "We made a healing cream to help Evie's back; we were going to give it to her," Mimmi explained.

Rita smiled. "That was very kind of you. Class will be over in a few minutes if you want to give it to her then." Rita paused briefly. "Have either of you seen Weilan? She hasn't turned up for school today. She's already missed several classes and I can't find her or get a hold of her."

"No, not since this morning in the grotto," Mimmi answered.

"That's odd," Rita pondered. "She's one of our best students and never misses class. Did she say anything to you this morning?"

"Well," Ondina started, dragging the word out as she spoke. "Not exactly."

Rita frowned. "What happened?"

Ondina looked down, ashamed of what she had said.

Mimmi spoke up, "Weilan overheard Ondina talking about how she'd messed things up this morning. Weilan kind of stormed out of the grotto after that. We had just assumed she came to school."

"I know she's perfectly capable of taking care of herself, but she appears to be missing now and I need you to look for her. Zac and Evie both have a few free periods coming up and might be able to help you." When Rita finished speaking, the bell rang out through the school. They were near Rita's office and went there to page Zac and Evie over the intercom.

A couple minutes later, right as the next class was beginning, a knock came on Rita's door. "Come in," she spoke. Zac and Evie were the ones who entered.

"What's wrong?" Zac asked.

"Weilan hasn't been in class at all," Evie noted.

"That's what I wanted you to come here about. I can't get a hold of Weilan and I was hoping the four of you could try to find her since you have your free periods now," Rita explained,

"Of course," Zac spoke while Evie nodded in agreement.

"Let's go," Evie said, staring out of the office. Zac followed right behind her then Mimmi and lastly, Ondina, a bit more reluctantly.

CHCHCH

Uncle Shen and Weilan had soon made it back to his shop; he entered first, followed with Weilan right behind him. He moved to stand behind his desk and put some of his things down. Weilan set one of the things she was carrying down on the desk.

"Ah, careful. Careful," Uncle Shen repeated, picking up the rectangular, woven satchel to check the painting underneath. He brushed some dust off.

"What is it?" Weilan asked, looking down.

"Is very beautiful painting of ancient myth," Uncle Shen explained as he began to unroll the sides more. "The Legend of Jiao Long," Uncle Shen continued, brushing more dirt off the ancient painting. He looked up to Weilan who was taking in the painting. He smiled and began to explain, "Ferocious dragon. See," he pointed it out on the painting. "People run from dragon like you."

Weilan glanced back and forth between Uncle Shen and the painting. She eyed him suspiciously. "What do you mean?" Weilan asked; her eyes narrowed ever so slightly as she watched Uncle Shen.

He let out a short breath before he explained. "You have dragon in your mind," he said, pointing to his temple. "It is what you fear, inside. Is like dragon. Even if you run away, trouble will follow you; it always will." Uncle Shen gave a brief pause. "Are you sure you want to leave?"

Weilan looked down to avoid his eyes. She gave a small shrug of indifference. "I don't know."

"Well, you may stay, or you may go. If you leave, make sure it is for right reason. Do not leave in storm. Leave under bright blue sky. Here, I want to give you this." Uncle Shen turned and retrieved a paper bag from a shelf behind his desk.

Weilan looked at the bag in wonder when Uncle Shen placed it in her hands. "What is it?" she asked with a sparkle in her eyes that had been absent most of the day.

"Prawn crackers," he explained. "No one should make up mind on empty stomach."

Weilan smiled as a way of thanking Uncle Shen for his generosity. "Thank-you," she spoke, the sparkle once again returning to her entire face and not just her eyes. A genuine smile completed the look. Weilan started to go, but turned back to give Uncle Shen a small smile before she walked out the door; he gave her a nod of encouragement before she continued on her way.

CHCHCH

"Evie and I don't have all that much time until we have to get back to school," Zac spoke as he, Evie, Mimmi, and Ondina exited the school grounds. "It might be best if we all split up and each search in a different area."

"All right," Mimm agreed. Evie and Ondina also agreed to that plan. The group only paused a few more minutes to work out who would look where before splitting up to try and find Weilan.

CHCHCH

Weilan kicked at a stone while walking back to Rita's from Uncle Shen's shop. She had her backpack slung over one shoulder and held the bag of prawn crackers in the other hand. Uncle Shen had made some good points about why she should stay, but she couldn't. What Ondina had said that morning both stung and stuck. She'd only brought trouble since she'd come. If she left, everything could go back to normal.

She wouldn't be there to put Evie in danger anymore, and her back could heal from what had happened. Once that was done, it would be as if Weilan had never actually stayed on the Gold Coast at all.

Weilan had made it to the grotto and was shoving clothes into her backpack when she heard splashing coming from the pool. She ignored it and continued to shove clothes in her backpack. Nothing could change her mind now that it was made up. She already had her heart set on leaving and ignored the sound of footsteps as they got closer.

"Weilan?" Ondina's questioning voice broke through the silence of the room. "What are you doing?" Ondina asked, starting down the stairs.

"Giving you what you wanted. I'm leaving," Weilan spoke, shoving another T-shirt into her backpack. Satisfied, she closed it and threw it over one shoulder. "Well, I'm leaving now. Enjoy my absence." Weilan gave a huff as she started out of the room.

Ondina watched Weilan walk past her and up the stairs. She sighed, "Weilan, wait."

At the top of the stairs, Weilan turned. "What, you want me to stay so you can throw a few more jabs my way?" A harsh sarcasm plagued Weilan's voice.

"No, I–" Ondina cut herself off to find the right words. "It was wrong of me to go after you the way I did. I was upset and I said some things I'm not proud of." She sighed, "You were trying to help; so what I really mean to say is that I'm sorry. Could you try staying a little while longer? Besides, we need your expertise if we're going to defeat the dragon, together." Ondina's voice grew softer as she pleaded with Weilan.

A small smile formed on Weilan's lips. "You really mean it?"

"Yes. Every word of it. I realized I was wrong."

"Wow," Weilan started back down the stairs. "It takes a big person to admit they were wrong."

Ondina let out a light laugh. "I truly am sorry."

"I believe you."

"Are we good then?" a hopeful glint was in Ondina's eyes.

"Yeah, we're good." Weilan set her backpack down on the stone bench. "I think it's a little late to go to school now," she spoke. The two girls shared a laugh.

CHCHCH

"We couldn't find Weilan," Zac reported to Rita when he and Evie returned to school a little under two hours later.

"We haven't talked to Ondina or Mimmi though," Evie added. "It's possible they could have found her."

Rita nodded. "Finish your classes for the day and afterwards we can go see if they went home."  
Zac and Evie nodded in agreement and went to their last few classes of the day. When the school day had finished, they headed to Rita's office where she and Mimmi, who had gotten there a little while before, were waiting. Together, the four headed over to Rita's.

Upon reaching the grotto, they found Weilan and Ondina sitting on the stone bench talking to each other. "You're here?" Mimmi asked, addressing Ondina. "And you found Weilan?"

"Yeah," Ondina answered. "We talked and worked things out. I apologized and we're good now."

Mimmi smiled as she, Rita, Zac, and Evie went down the stairs. Mimmi went and sat beside Ondina, placing her arm around her friend.

Weilan faced Rita. "I'm sorry I missed school today. I just needed some time by myself to think."

"It's quite all right," Rita said. "However, you have double homework due tomorrow for missing today."

Weilan pursed her lips but stood to accept the homework. She placed it on the table beside her and turned to Evie. Taking a deep breath, she spoke, "Evie, I'm so sorry." Her eyes and voice were much softer than normal as she approached Evie.

Instead of responding with words, Evie stepped forward to give Weilan a comforting hug, Weilan placed her hands lightly on Evie's back. "It's okay," Evie said a minute later when the two girls separated.

Weilan breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, I just remembered!" Mimmi exclaimed. "We made this cream that should help your back heal faster today." Mimmi reached into her pocket and took the lotion out to give it to Evie.

"Thanks," Evie spoke.

"And I promise next time to give full disclosure to you about what we're doing," Weilan added, causing the whole group to laugh.

CHCHCH

Later that night, Weilan sat in the grotto working on her homework. She closed the textbook she had been working from and headed out to the reef and eventually the moon pool.

"Weilan!" Mimmi spoke in surprise,

"What are you doing here?" Ondina asked, her brow furrowed.

"You don't mind if I bunk with you, do you?"

"Not at all," Mimmi replied. "You're always welcome."

"You don't snore though, do you?" Ondina asked.

"Only when I sleep," Weilan replied, a smirk on her face.

"Ha–ha," Ondina laughed sarcastically followed by all three girls laughing together.

"Goodnight Weilan. Goodnight Ondina."

"Goodnight Mimmi. Goodnight Weilan."

"Goodnight." When Weilan had finished speaking, the girls all lay back and let sleep overtake them.

 **A/N:** Whoohooo! I was finally able to get this typed up. And now, an explanation, apology, and some other stuff:

As a heads up to everyone, when I write, most of the time it's in notebooks the first time because I feel I can do better editing when I have to think through everything while typing it up. That being said, I already finished with 'Wishful Thinking' but the rewrite is 32 pages long in my notebook, about twice what this one was, so it will take me awhile to get that typed up. I took a lot of creative liberties and changed several things around for that rewrite. It shouldn't be 3 months before the next update though; my semester ends in the middle of December and I should have more time then to get 'Wishful Thinking' typed up. And I'm really sorry I took over 3 months to get everything for this chapter together.

Thanks for your patience with me. Also a big thanks for the reviews, favs, and follows, I really appreciate them. I'd love to know what you thought and to hear constructive criticism you have for me. Thanks for reading,

-CrazyHayniac


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Wishful Thinking**

A week after the incident with the dragon, Evie's back was mostly healed thanks to Rita and Mimmi and their skills with healing potions. There were still some marks on her back and a few they thought would leave scars, but there were no longer any open wounds. To celebrate, she and Zac went on an early morning dive.

They met up at Zac's bungalow and entered the water in the canal behind his house. They quickly speed off to deeper water. They spent a while swimming over the reef and through the blue abyss, enjoying the beauty of the sea life.

As the couple swam, something caught Zac's eye as the sun reflected off of it. He went over to it and found that it was a glistening shell. He flipped it over between his hands a couple times before motioning for Evie to join him. They swam to the surface together.

"That's a really pretty shell," Evie commented, turning it over in her hands after Zac had handed it to her. "You should keep it."

"You think so?" Zac asked, taking the shell back from Evie when she held it out to him. "Are you sure you don't want it?"

"No. You found it; you should keep it."

"Okay."

"We should probably head back now though," Evie spoke after a few moments of comfortable silence.

Zac nodded in agreement. In only a couple minutes, they had made it back to Zac's bungalow. He placed the shell on the shelf between his living room area and his bed before joining Evie on the couch to work on some homework.

CHCHCH

After a little while, a knock on the door interrupted Zac and Evie's studying. "Come in," Zac called from where he sat on the couch looking over some notes. Both he and Evie looked up as the door opened and Mimmi, Ondina, and Weilan entered. "Hey guys," Zac greeted while he and Evie stood.

"What's up?"

"We have the research you wanted," Weilan said, holding a stack of papers out to Zac and Evie.

Zac took the papers and began to flip through them while Evie glanced over his shoulder at them. "All this just for one project?"

"We did say we wanted it," Evie reasoned.

Zac nodded and flipped through the papers once more; a silence followed.

"Can we go to the cafe now?" Ondina asked, swaying back and forth on her feet impatiently. "I would like to eat something this month."

"Okay," Weilan spoke. "Zac, Evie, you want to come too?"

"We really should work on our Chemistry project," Evie answered. "Though it is tempting."

"Yeah," Zac agreed. "I'm not sure I can tear myself away from this," he joked, holding the papers up.

"Oh, come on, cheer up you two," Weilan said. "Where are those famous smiles?" she asked. Picking up a nearby picture of Zac and Evie smiling at a party when they were twelve. Weilan held the picture up next to her face and smiled broadly.

"We didn't have Chemistry projects when we were twelve."

"Hey, what's this?" Mimmi asked, noticing the shell Zac and Evie had found that morning. She picked it up to look at it.

"Zac found it out on the reef when we were swimming today," Evie explained.

"It's beautiful," Mimmi said, showing it to Weilan and Ondina. "I've never seen anything like it before."

Zac turned to look at the picture he now held in his hands while Evie looked over his shoulder at it. They reminisced as they looked at the picture. "School used to be so easy," he commented. "I played all the time. Life was pretty good as a kid. I wish you could have seen us then." Zac and Evie laughed. Zac lowered the picture a minute later and they turned to look back to Ondina, Weilan, and Mimmi. "Guys?" Zac asked, looking around at all the alien stuff that now plagued his room. There were charts and pictures of crop circles and alien spaceships as well as alien figures all over his room.

"What happened?" Evie asked.

"I have no idea," Zac trailed off as they continued to look around the room in wonder.

CHCHCH

Ondina, Mimmi, and Weilan briefly felt themselves shift through no power of their own. The shell, which Ondina now held, slipped out of her hand. She, Mimmi, and Weilan looked around in wonder. The bungalow was no longer Zac's room; it seemed more like a storage shed.

They turned around slowly to look at the room better. What they found was what looked to be a younger Zac and Evie staring up at them. Zac had a table with pieces for remote controlled cars in front of him.

Zac and Evie shared a look before Zac reached down to the walkie-talkie that also sat on the table. "Cam, come here quick. Three girls just appeared in my room."

Ondina, Mimmi, and Weilan all glanced at each other, concerned looks etched on their faces.

CHCHCH

Zac and Evie continued to look around Zac's room in wonder. "Where'd all this alien stuff come from?" Evie asked, picking one item up.

Zac shrugged. "And where'd Mimmi, Ondina, and Weilan go?"

"Maybe they're invisible?" Evie suggested. "Guys?" The two flailed around the room for a minute trying to find their friends. All they found was that they kept hitting air; they're friends weren't there.

"Look at this." Zac drew Evie's attention to a picture of them dressed up in space outfits with weird devices on their heads. They once again looked around the room in wonder; curious as to how they got there.

CHCHCH

"Where are Zac and Evie?" Ondina asked, looking over to Weilan and Mimmi.

"How do you know our names?" the girl, younger Evie, asked.

"You– You're Evie?" Mimmi stuttered. Evie nodded. "And you're Zac?"

"Yeah. How did you know that?"

"Um," Ondina spoke. "We just did," she answered, speaking slowly and separating each word.

"It's just like the picture," Weilan whispered, looking at the younger Zac and Evie.

"How did you do that?" Zac asked while Mimmi, Ondina, and Weilan looked around the room.

"Do what?" Ondina asked.

"You weren't there a minute ago and then suddenly you were," Evie answered.

"We're," Weilan trailed off as her eyes caught sight of a toy spaceship. "Aliens," she finished,

Ondina and Mimmi turned to Weilan with wide eyes. Weilan just shrugged as a knock on the door cut through the silence. Ondina, Mimmi, and Weilan raised their hands to become invisible as Zac's mum entered.

"Zac, are you getting ready?" she asked, entering the room. "Oh, Evie, you're over here."

"Yeah, I, uh, asked Evie to come by," Zac explained. Evie nodded in agreement.

"Well, don't stay too much longer. You should be getting ready for your party."

"I was going to leave in a couple minutes."

"Okay. Zac," Lauren drew the attention of her son. "Did you see where I left Evie's present?"

"Yeah," Zac replied, absentmindedly.

"Okay, don't forget it."

"Yeah."

"Is everything all right, you two?"

"Yeah," he replied.

"Yup," Evie answered.

"Okay. Zac, we'll be leaving in an hour. Make sure you're ready. I'll see you later, Evie,"  
Lauren said. She moved outside and closed the door behind herself as she left.

Once Lauren was gone, Ondina, Mimmi, and Weilan breathed a sigh of relief as they reappeared.

"You really are aliens!" Zac exclaimed.

"How'd you get here?" Evie asked.

Zac picked up his walkie-talkie once again while Evie spoke. "Cam. Hurry up. You need to see this. Come here now."

"Um, we need to get going," Ondina said. Mimmi, who was closest to the door, took Ondina's hand who took Weilan's hand as they rushed out.

Zac and Evie shared a smile. "I really should be heading home. I'll see you in a little while, Zac," Evie said, making her way out the door.

Zac waved goodbye and smiled to himself.

CHCHCH

From Zac's, Ondina, Mimmi, and Weilan headed down the familiar route to Rita's. As they walked along a grassy area near the water, they talked and tried to work out what had happened.

"All right. Can anyone explain what's going on?" Ondina asked somewhat rhetorically.

"I have no idea," Mimmi trailed off. "Why are Zac and Evie so young. It's like they're twelve again."

"Did we do that?" Ondina asked.

Weilan shrugged. "It's actually almost like we time traveled," she spoke, her voice slow and unsure.

Ondina scoffed. "That's ridiculous. Time travel, as if."

"Uh, we are mermaids in case you forgot. Who says time travel can't be possible too?"

"We need to find Rita and talk to her," Mimmi cut across Ondina and Weilan's argument. They nodded in agreement and the trio continued towards Rita's.

CHCHCH

A few minutes after Evie had left, Zac sat in the bungalow closely examining the spacecraft he held in his hands. ' _Could the aliens have come to Earth in one of these?'_ he asked himself while he waited for Cam.

At the sound of the door opening, Zac turned around. "Where are the girls?" Cam asked as he entered.

"They're not just girls, Cam. They're aliens too."

"Really, Blakely? I raced over here expecting to see girls and all I find is you," he paused. "And now you're telling me they're aliens too?"

"Well, they're aliens who look like girls."

"Wait. So are they actually girls, or just aliens who can make themselves _look_ like girls?" Cam asked.

"I– I don't know," Zac stuttered. "Maybe they're girl aliens," Zac nodded as he spoke.

"You've lost it," Cam scoffed. "I've got to get ready for Evie's party. Later Blakely." Cam turned and left the room.

"Wait," Zac stopped him. "They might come back, and you have to see them. They really were here. I swear."

Cam raised a brow and turned back to face Zac and shook his head. "Act your age, Blakely. Only little kids and weirdos believe in aliens." Without so much as a glance back, Cam headed out of the bungalow.

Zac sunk down into his seat, feeling defeated. When he looked up, he caught sight of something on his floor. Upon investigation, Zac found that it was a shell. He turned it over in his hands a couple times, looking at it curiously.

CHCHCH

After entering Rita's through the pool, Ondina, Mimmi, and Weilan walked up the stairs and to the main portion of the grotto. "So, have either of you got a better explanation than time travel for why we're here?" Weilan asked, her voice snarky.

"C'mon, time travel is a fantasy."

Weilan rolled her eyes at Ondina's comment.

"Let's just find Rita so we can sort this all out," Mimmi broke through their argument.

The girls began to make their way down the stairs to the lowered portion of the grotto. While their backs were turned, Rita entered. "What are you doing here?" her stern voice asked,

The girls turned, surprised to hear Rita sounding so stern. She only ever used that sort of tone when they'd done something to get themselves in trouble. "Rita," Mimmi sighed in relief, thinking Rita's tone had only been because she wasn't expecting to see them. "We need your help. Something weird is going on."

"Who are you?" Rita asked, her brow furrowed. "How did you get in here?" she continued, starting down the stairs as the girls had made it all the way down them.

Ondina drew her brow together. "We swam in through the pool, like we always do," she trailed off.

Rita shook her head and pursed her lips. "Veridia sent you, didn't she?"

Mimmi looked to Weilan and Ondina who were just as confused as she was. "What do you mean? Veridia didn't send us."

"Right," Rita spoke, obviously not believing the girls. "I knew she'd send someone but I didn't expect her to send three hatchlings."

"What are you talking about?" Ondina asked. "We're not hatchlings."

"Veridia didn't send us," Weilan echoed what Mimmi had said before.

Still not believing them, Rita answered, "You can tell her that my mind is made up. I'm staying here on land."

Mimmi furrowed her brow. "I don't understand."

"It's simple, really," Rita began. "This is my home," she trailed off. "Right now I have work to do at school. Tell Veridia I'm not going back to the pod. Ever." Rita emphasized. "Now go!"

Ondina, Mimmi, and Weilan started towards the stairs. Their brows were all knit together as they made their way past Rita. Ondina was nearly at the top of the stairs when she stopped. Mimmi and Weilan came to a stop behind her. "We– we live here with you," Ondina spoke, turning to face Rita.

Rita scoffed in response. "You live here with me?" she asked, her brow raised in disbelief.

"Yeah, with you and Poseidon," Weilan expanded.

"Poseidon?"

"You know, your fluffy white cat."

"I don't have a cat."

"Rita, please–" Mimmi began, only to be cut off by Rita.

"Go!" she exclaimed. "And don't come back," she added forcibly.

A confused expression still on her face, Ondina turned to lead the way out of the grotto and back outside.

"It makes sense," Weilan spoke as they walked along the house outside. "Zac and Evie are kids and Rita's younger and doesn't know us."

"Okay, so maybe we did travel back in time," Ondina admitted.

"But how'd we do that?" Mimmi asked,

"The seashell!" Weilan suddenly exclaimed. "It glowed, there was this flash of light, and then the next thing we knew, we were here."

Mimmi paused for a minute in thought. "You know, now that you mention it, I think you're right. The shell must have some kind of magical power over time. I dropped it in Zac's room."

"What are we waiting for?" Ondina spoke.

"Hold on," Weilan held her arm out to stop Ondina from heading towards Zac's. "We need to be careful around Zac and Evie."

"Why?" Ondina scoffed. "They're just kids here. What does it matter if we're careful around them or not?"

"Have you ever heard of the butterfly effect?" Weilan asked, turning to face Mimmi and Ondina; they gave her blank looks. "I'm guessing not then. Well, if we mess around with the past too much, it could change the future."

"We don't have a choice," Mimmi said. She continued towards the bungalow, taking the lead. Ondina and Weilan followed behind her.

CHCHCH

Having not found any answers to why there was suddenly so much alien stuff in Zac's room, or having any idea what had happened to Mimmi, Ondina, and Weilan, Zac and Evie decided to go to the cafe. Hopefully David, Carly, or Cam would be there and know something.

Only a few customers were outside the cafe when Zac and Evie got there, so they ventured inside where they found both David and Carly.

"Hey Carly," Evie greeted.

"Evie, hi," Carly replied, her voice slow as she eyed Evie suspiciously. "What's going on? Do you want a juice or something?"

"Uh, no. Zac and I were wondering if you'd seen the other mer–" Evie cut herself off as a customer passed by. She and Zac gave the customer fake smiles and lead Carly closer to the cool room.

"If you'd seen the other mermaids," Zac finished, making sure he kept his voice low.

"The other what's?"

"David," Zac drew his attention as he passed by.

"What's up? Can I get you guys anything like a drink?"

"Uh, not now. Have you seen the other mermaids?"

"Mermaids?"

"Yeah," Evie added. "Ondina, Weilan, Mimmi. You know, Zac's sister."

"I didn't know you had a sister, Zac," David said.

Zac and Evie turned to each other and shared a confused look. "Yeah, we told you about her a few months ago. She's got brown hair, blue eyes, Canadian accent. Mermaid," Zac finished.

"So now you two are all about mermaids?" Carly questioned.

"You've met them."

"Yeah right."

"That would be cool," David said. "But I don't think I've met any mermaids. I mean, it'd be cool if they were real."

"If?" Zac asked.

David nodded. "You both have pretty wild imaginations."

"Yeah. What happened to those aliens?"

"What aliens?" Evie asked.

"That's what we've been wondering for years," Carly replied, doing nothing to keep the snarkiness out of her voice.

"But David, you're dating a mermaid, Sirena," Evie said.

"No I'm not," David replied. "Carly and I are dating. We have been for a while now. How could you two have forgotten."

"How could you confuse me with some 'mermaid' named Sirena," Carly added.

"Where's Cam?" Zac broke across the conversation.

"Probably at the beach," David replied.

"Thanks." Zac and Evie turned to leave the cafe. David and Carly watched them for a minute before going back to their work.

CHCHCH

From the cafe, Zac and Evie took the short walk to the beach. They were there within a couple minutes. They surveyed the beach for a minute trying to find Cam. "There he is!" Zac exclaimed. "Cam, hey!" Zac ran ahead of Evie. She laughed and followed behind him.

Cam, who had been sitting in one of the chairs, jumped down and handed the binoculars he held over to another lifeguard who then took over in the chair.

"Cam. Man am I glad to see you," Zac spoke, embracing Cam in a hug as Evie caught up to them.

"Whoa, hold on there, Blakely. Three paces at all times. I need my personal space. People might be watching." Cam held Zac's shoulders to make him stand back. "So, what are you two doing here?"

"We've had the weirdest day," Zac spoke, motioning with his hand as Evie nodded in agreement.

"Oh, have you now?" Cam asked, his brow raised.

"So you saw a UFO or something then? Little green guys coming to attack the Earth soon or something?"

"Cam, what are you talking about?" Evie asked, her voice stern.

"You know those big metal flying things in the sky? They're called airplanes, and they are identified."

"Wha–what do you mean?" Zac repeated Evie's question.

"I'm pretty sure that's a song title. Just without the stuttering," Cam trailed off. "I have to get back to work. See you weirdos later." Cam turned and motioned for the other lifeguard to come back down. They exchanged who had the binoculars again and Cam got back up into the chair.

Zac and Evie looked to Cam again, unsure of what he meant. After a minute, they headed back up the beach.

CHCHCH

Twelve year old Zac sat in his room tying his shoe when Ondina, Mimmi, and Weilan entered. He looked up at the sound of the door opening and his face instantly lit up in a smile. "I knew you'd come back. Cam and Evie are going to be sorry they missed you this time," Zac said, looking to the girls. They, however, ignored him and looked around the room.

"I can't see it," Mimmi said after looking under the table in the bungalow.

"Sorry about telling Cam about you. He's the only other person who knows about you. Unless Evie told Carly," Zac trailed off. "Hey, can I see your spaceship?" Zac asked. "I bet it's super cool and high-tech."

Ondina rolled her eyes as she turned to look at him. "Put a clam in it. Where's the seashell?"

Zac looked taken aback as the three moved to stand in front of him.

"Wha– what seashell?" Zac stuttered.

Mimmi gave Zac a small smile before speaking softly. "There's a seashell here, Zac. It's really shiny. Have you seen it? We really need it to get home."

Zac eyed them earnestly, trying to figure out what their intentions were. "But you just got here," he spoke a few seconds later.

"Hand it over, kid! Or I might just zap you to outer space!" Ondina exclaimed.

"Ondina," Mimmi said, sending her best friend a stern look and a glare. "Zac," Mimmi began, her voice much softer than it had been when she spoke to Ondina. "Are you sure you haven't seen the shell?"

"I– I . . . uh," Zac stuttered. His gaze moved to the shell on a shelf behind Ondina, Mimmi, and Weilan.

Following Zac's gaze, Weilan and Ondina turned to see the shell. Ondina snatched it before Zac had the chance to protest. "I've got it!" Ondina exclaimed in excitement. "Let's get out of here."

Before Ondina had the chance to do anything else, Zac rushed forward and took hold of Ondina's forearm. "Please don't leave. Meeting you today was the coolest thing that's ever happened to me."

There was a moment of silence that was broken by Zac's mum calling for him from outside. "Zac, are you ready?" she asked.

He was ready, but he didn't want to leave quite yet. He looked to Ondina and then over to Mimmi. "You should go to Evie's party," she spoke.

"Zac!" Mrs. Blakely's voice once again broke the silence. "Hurry up or you'll be late!"

Zac sighed as he looked to the door and then back over to the girls. He had taken a small step towards the door when Ondina stopped him. "We were never here. All right?"

Zac held eye contact with Ondina and her threatening gaze for several seconds before moving past her. He picked up Evie's present and hurried out the door. He hadn't fully gone out the door when he turned to give the girls one last look before hurrying off.

Mimmi sighed as she looked to Ondina who held the shell in her hands. She turned it over slowly as she looked down at it.

CHCHCH

Rita walked through the halls with a small stack of papers under her arm. She looked up and saw Ms. Trumble several paces ahead of her, just turning a corner. "Ms. Santos," Ms. Trumble spoke in a smooth and cold voice.

"Ms. Trumble," Rita greeted.

"Working on a Saturday, I see. It's good to see a junior member of staff who's dedicated to their job. I'll make sure I keep my eye on you when I'm in charge."

Rita paused for a moment to consider what Ms. Trumble had said. "In charge?" she questioned.

"Why of course," Ms. Trumble exclaimed. "The members of the school board are interviewing me for the job of principal."

"Oh," Rita spoke in surprise, glancing down. "Really?"

"Why of course," Ms. Trumble repeated. "The interview is really just a formality. I'm perfect for the job and they all know that."

"Well," Rita began. "I was actually thinking of applying for the position."

Ms. Trumble raised her brow at Rita as three teenaged girls came running up to them and Rita specifically. "Hi, Rita," Ondina spoke in an overly sweet voice. "We need to talk to you."

"Right now," Weilan insisted forcibly.

"I mean, if you're not doing anything important," Mimmi added, already ushering Rita to the side and away from Ms. Trumble.

Ms. Trumble watched Rita and the three girls walk away and to the side of the hall. After a few moments, she shook her head and continued on her way.

"How dare you follow me to here!" Rita exclaimed. "This is my place of work. You have absolutely no right to be here."

"Rita, please," Ondina begged. "Just hear us out. We're from the future."

"Yeah, right," she scoffed.

"It's true," Weilan insisted. "We live with you five years from now."

Rita gave a scoff at how foolish that sounded. "All right," she began. "If you really are from the future, prove it. Tell me something about myself that would prove you're from the future or that you know me."

"Um," Weilan paused for a minute. "You like seaweed cordial!" she exclaimed.

Rita gave a light laugh as she spoke, "Every mermaid liked seaweed cordial." Shaking her head, Rita turned to go.

Mimmi watched for a second, biting her lip as a solution came to her. "You're the principal here!" she exclaimed.

Rita stopped dead in her tracks and turned back to face the girls slowly. "Excuse me?" she asked.

"In five years, you're the principal here," Ondina repeated.

"How could you have any idea that I would be the principal here? I only decided to apply this morning."

Mimmi smiled as she looked to Ondina and Weilan, they both gave her a small smile. "Like we said," Ondina began. "We're from the future."

A small smile formed on Rita's lips as she realized they were telling the truth and began to believe them.

CHCHCH

Rita sighed as she walked with the girls. "Time travel," she spoke wistfully. "How is that possible?"

"Well, it's not really an every-day type thing," Mimmi laughed.

Weilan turned to Ondina and gave her a nudge. "Show Rita the shell."

Ondina nodded and held the shell out to Rita who carefully took it and turned it over in her hands. Her eyes lit up when she realized what it was. "This is a wishing shell. They're really rare. I've heard of them but I've never seen one before." Rita turned the shell over a couple more times before handing it back to Ondina. "Tell me exactly what was happening when you time traveled here."

"Um," Weilan began, trying to remember what happened. "We were over at our friend, Zac's place, talking to him and Evie. We were looking at a picture of them when they were twelve, like they are now. I think Zac said," Weilan paused in thought. "He said 'I wish you could have seen us then'. . ." she trailed off, starting to put the pieces together.

Realization dawned across Rita's features. "When your friend, Zac, made the wish, the wishing shell made it come true."

"And then it sent us back to their childhood," Mimmi concluded.

"So we should be able to wish ourselves back to five years from now, right?" Ondina asked, looking hopefully to Rita.

"It's not that easy. If Zac was the one who found the wishing shell and made the wish in the first place, that makes him the one who controls it, not you. It's going to need to be his choice to send you back home."

Ondina, Mimmi, and Weilan looked to each other. "Then, what happens if Zac doesn't want to send us back?" Ondina asked.

Rita paused for a moment and looked solemn when the answer came to her. "You will never be able to go back if Zac doesn't want to wish you back." The girls turned to each other with wide eyes.

CHCHCH

After going to the cafe, Zac and Evie had returned to the bungalow where they sat looking at a magazine about aliens and UFOs that appeared to be Zac's. "Where did these even come from?" Evie asked, looking at a small stack of them quizzically.

Zac shrugged as the door opened and his parents entered. He put the magazine down and both he and Evie stood.

"Morning Zac," Rob greeted. "Morning Evie."

"We're going shopping," Lauren began. "Is there anything you want?" she asked.

"Well no, not really," Zac said, going over to his parents. "But I am glad to see you," he began; Evie nodded in agreement while Zac took a few moments to lead his parents over to the couch.

"Why don't you sit down," Evie spoke, helping escort Rob and Lauren over to the couch.

Zac went over to the door which was slightly ajar and looked out it before closing it. His parents looked over to him with concern written across their features as he stood opposite Evie. "All right," he started, taking a step away from the door. "Something weird is going on."

"Now we know this is going to sound crazy," Evie said as Zac nodded fervently.

"But," Zac took over, walking to the other side of the room and picking up the picture of him and Evie in their alien outfits. "This– this isn't us." Zac said, holding the picture out towards his parents. They both looked to Zac and Evie with expressions that clearly said they thought the two had gone crazy.

"Well, they look like us," Evie reasoned. "But– but it's not us."

"You can tell, right?" Zac asked.

Rob pursed his lips. "Zac, Evie, are you feeling all right?"

"Everything was normal when I got up today," Evie began. "I came over here after breakfast so Zac and I could work on our Chemistry project."

"Right," Zac agreed. "Then our friends Ondina, Mimmi, and Weilan brought us some research. Then, suddenly everything was different," Zac explained. "Now it's like we're in some type of alternate reality where everything is different and nothing makes sense," he finished. "None of this is real!" he added in a whisper.

Rob and Lauren looked to each other. "Zac, darling, you don't know anyone named Ondina, Mimmi, or Weilan."

"I– what?"

"We do too," Evie insisted.

"Is everything all right at school?" Rob asked.

"Are you two okay? Evie, should we get your dad?" Lauren questioned.

"No, no," Zac and Evie replied together, giving nervous chuckles.

"We're fine," Evie waved her hand.

"And we, um, have to go," Zac said.

"Uh, yeah," Evie agreed. Zac took her hand and the two hurried out, giving Zac's parents smiles as they left.

They stopped outside the bungalow and turned to face each other. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Zac asked.

"Rita?"

"Rita."

Zac and Evie raced down the jetty and dove into the water. They were happy to find that despite the supposed alternate universe, they still had their tails. They made it to Rita's in record time and dried their tails off as quickly as they could.

Zac and Evie ran up the stairs and over to the grotto. "Rita!" Zac called.

"Rita!" Evie echoed. She and Zac both had to duck as a spider web blocked the top part of the doorway into the grotto. "What the world?"

"Hello, Rita?" Zac called.

"How is the grotto like this? Rita would never let this happen."

Zac shrugged. "This doesn't make sense," he said, looking around the cobweb covered, rubble ridden grotto.

"Rita?" Evie called one more time, her voice weak and unsure. She and Zac stood in stunned silence looking at the grotto and its state of disuse, wondering what could have happened and where Rita could have been.

CHCHCH

Evie stood at her party talking to Carly who had been her best friend since before she and Zac met. Her dad, Doug, walked out of the house with another plate of snacks. "Having fun, Evie?"

"Yeah," she replied, turning towards her dad. "Everything's great."

Doug nodded and walked towards the table where Cam stood "These are delicious, Mr. McLaren," Cam spoke, referring to the small treat he held in his hand.

"Thanks, Cam," Doug said. Cam and the other boy he was with started off as Doug headed back inside.

Zac began to walk up towards the party. "Hey Evie," he greeted.

"Zac!" Evie exclaimed happily. "I'm glad you made it." she spoke as Carly walked away to talk to another girl who was calling her over.

"Happy birthday," Zac smiled and looked down. "Here's your present."

"Thanks Zac." Evie lowered her voice a little. "Did you see the aliens again?"

"Yeah. They came back again for a couple minutes," he explained as Carly walked back over to Evie.

CHCHCH

After finding that Rita wasn't at her house, Zac and Evie started back towards the cafe to find answers. Both David and Carly were outside clearing tables when Zac and Evie approached. "Hey, Zac, Evie," Carly greeted, being the first to look up and see them.

"Do you want anything to drink this time?" David asked, noticing them and making his way over.

"No," Zac waved him off.

"We actually have a question for you," Evie gave a pause. "Where's Rita?"

"Rita?" David and Carly asked at the same time.

"Yeah, you know, Principal Santos, our school's principal," Zac explained, his brow furrowed as he wondered what could have been confusing about his initial question.

David and Carly shared confused looks with each other. "She moved away, what, was it two, three years ago?" Carly spoke, turning to David.

"Yeah. I think that's right. But everyone knows she moved away."

"She– she," Zac stuttered. He turned to Evie.

"Is there something on your minds?" David asked.

Evie gave a small laugh. "I don't think you'd believe us if we told you."

David pursed his lips and looked over as a couple people sat down outside the cafe. "There's a customer. I better go take care of them."

"I've got it," Carly offered.

"Okay. Thanks, Carly." Zac, Evie, and David Carly go for a few seconds. "Listen. I know people give you guys a hard time about your theories, but I agree with you. There are a lot of mysteries in this world. Who says there aren't things we don't know about yet."

"Okay," Zac said. "Then what if we told you we're from an alternate reality?"

David paused in consideration for a few seconds. "That's a bit crazy, even for you two."

Zac and Evie were both stunned to silence, unsure of what else to say. "How long have we been obsessed with aliens?" Zac asked slowly, looking to David.

David furrowed his brow as he thought back. "I think it was– it was around Evie's twelfth birthday party," David finished with confidence.

CHCHCH

At Evie's twelfth birthday party, she stood talking to Cam at by the table with her presents. "Everything all right here, Evie?" Doug asked as he went to check up on Evie.

"Yeah, party's great, dad. Thanks," Evie replied.

"Terrific," Doug spoke. "Well, I'm going to get the cake decorated. Can't have a party without a cake," he joked.

Cam and Evie smiled at Doug as he walked away.

Zac, who was getting a glass of punch, looked up as Ondina, Mimmi, and Weilan walked up. "Go away," he spoke in a sad voice when he knew they were close enough to hear him. "You got your shell. You can go home now."

Mimmi turned to Ondina and gave her a pointed look as well as a small nudge. "I wasn't nice to you earlier and I'm sorry," Ondina apologized.

Evie looked over towards the punch and saw the girls she had seen at Zac's she thought were aliens. She took a minute to excuse herself from talking to Cam before going over there as well. "You're the aliens," Evie spoke.

"Yeah, hi, Evie," Weilan replied.

"Zac," Mimmi began. "We really need your help."

"Really?" Zac asked, a new light in his eyes. As Zac spoke, Cam made his way over to them to see what Evie was up to.

"What, are these the girls?" Cam asked sarcastically as he made it to the group.

"They're the aliens, yeah," Evie replied. "Do you need my help too?"

"Well, it was actually Zac specifically, but we might need your help too," Mimmi said after a couple seconds of consideration.

"Well, these aliens don't look like aliens," Cam spoke with a scoff.

"But they are aliens," Zac insisted. The other kids at the party had gathered around to listen in. They laughed as Zac insisted that the normal looking girls a couple years older than them were aliens.

"It's true," Evie added. "They are aliens. They can do a trick where they disappear."

"By becoming invisible," Zac pressed. "Show them."

"Looks like Blakely's finally lost it. And he's taking Evie with him."

Zac looked over to Evie and gave her an apologetic look before turning to Ondina, Mimmi, and Weilan. "Please, show them."

Mimmi, who stood in the middle, turned first to Weilan, then Ondina, and finally Zac and Evie. "What disappearing trick?" she asked.

As Zac and Evie's expressions fell, the other kids laughed. After a few seconds, Zac ran off towards the jetty at the end of Evie's yard. Hoping she could cheer him up since she understood, Evie followed him.

"Um," Mimmi spoke, watching them go. "Let me go talk to them," she looked to Ondina and Weilan for a moment before going down by Zac and Evie.

Ondina and Weilan stepped to the side and out of the way. Cam took a few steps closer to them to try and flirt with them. After a minute, the girls turned away from him, ignoring the fact that he had called himself 'The Camster'.

Having not been able to cheer Zac up, Evie had fallen into a silence. They both looked down at the water with their legs dangling off the edge towards the shallow water. They watched it slowly lap onto the shore as Mimmi's slow footsteps approached.

"Go away," Zac said coldly when Mimmi stopped and stood behind him and Evie.

"Please just hear me out," Mimmi spoke.

Zac and Evie looked first to each other, then to Mimmi and back to each other. They shared a look for a moment and moved a little farther away to allow Mimmi to sit between them.

"Zac, Evie, I'm sorry I embarrassed you both," she paused. "But we aliens need to keep a low profile when we visit other planets. You know what people would do if they found out aliens existed?" Mimmi joked, give Zac and Evie both small, gentle nudges. Getting no reactions from either of them, Mimmi continued. "We really do need your help. Probably _both_ of your help."

"Why us?" Evie asked. "We're just normal kids."

"You two aren't normal, trust me. You're both special."

"No we're not," Zac insisted.

"You may not think you're special, but you're both really special, especially to me." Mimmi put her arms around them. "You know, we're not just aliens," she paused. "We're also from the future. In the future, the three of us our really good friends."

"So what," Zac countered, turning to look at Mimmi and shaking her arm off him. "What does that matter? Everyone thinks we're crazy."

"Yeah," Evie agreed. "I think Carly's even starting to think I'm crazy. And she's my best friend." She shook Mimmi's arm off her as well and turned to look back to the water with Zac.

"Hmm," Mimmi paused in thought. "You know, I think I might be able to do something about that." She put her arms around them again and gave a gentle squeeze before standing up and motioning for them to follow her.

CHCHCH

"Can I freshen your drink for you?" Cam asked Weilan, making his way back over and standing next to her and Ondina.

"Uh, how old are you?" Weilan asked.

"I'm twelve," he replied in a suave voice."But my mum says I look older than I really am," Cam gave a sly smile but Ondina and Weilan only laughed and turned away. Cam walked away a couple seconds later, seeing that he was still getting nowhere.

While Cam walked away, Mimmi approached the party with Zac and Evie.

"Hi everyone. Can I have your attention?" Mimmi said, raising her voice above the noise of the party. "I understand that some of you here don't believe in aliens," she spoke even as some of the kids laughed. "Well, you may not believe in aliens, but me and my friends are aliens. And we can prove it."

Ondina and Weilan turned to Mimmi with wide eyes and questioning expressions. "What are you doing?" Ondina asked through gritted teeth.

"Just trust me," Mimmi whispered in reply. Ondina sighed.

"All right. Let's pretend you are aliens and Blakely hasn't lost it," Cam said. "If you are aliens, what planet are you from?"

"The name doesn't translate well," Mimmi answered. "But where we're from, the laws of gravity like here on earth are upside down and everything floats." At her last words, Mimmi turned her hand towards the punch and lifted a spear of it out of the bowl. Kids gasped as Mimmi held it in mid-air.

"Whoa!"

"Cool!" some of the kids exclaimed.

"Weilan," Mimmi motioned.

Weilan handed her empty cup to Ondina and moved to stand opposite of Mimmi. As Weilan did that, Mimmi split the one ball of orange punch into three spheres. "Catch," Mimmi said, tossing one of the spheres over to Weilan. Kids once again gasped as Mimmi and Weilan began to juggle the balls of punch.

"Aliens aren't real," Carly laughed. "This is just some sort of trick.

Cam scoffed at the thought of aliens being real. "Carly's right. They're not aliens," he laughed. "It's just plastic balls tied on strings. Someone else has to be in on their trick," he spoke, moving forward to wave his hand over and then under the juice to try and find strings. His hand, however, didn't hit anything.

"And now, a special present for Evie," Mimmi said, seeing that Evie had picked up her empty cup. Mimmi brought the juice back together as one and lowered it into Evie's cup. All the kids gasped in amazement. Mimmi gave a small bow and Weilan a curtsy.

"This is awesome," Evie said, smiling at Mimmi and then locking eyes with Zac.

"Are you guys ready?" Mimmi asked them, picking the shell up from where it has been placed on the table.

"Yeah," they answered. Zac started off to the side of the house as Evie handed her drink to Carly for a minute so she could follow. Cam and Carly closely examined the juice inside.

CHCHCH

Over to the side of the yard, Zac and Evie stood opposite of Mimmi, Ondina, and Weilan. "What do you want us to do?" Evie asked.

Weilan looked to the shell in Mimmi's hands. "That shell is a magical wishing shell," she explained. "You just need to say, 'We wish things back the way they were.' Once you do, we'll be able to go home." Weilan finished, locking her eyes with Zac and Evie.

Zac looked down and then over to Evie. "I don't want you to go."

"Me either," Evie added.

"Guys, I meant what I said. We'll all see each other again in the future," she smiled and gave a nod as she spoke.

"Promise?" Zac and Evie asked after looking to each other. They both held their pinkies out to Mimmi.

Mimmi gave the shell to Ondina and held her own pinkies out to Zac and Evie. "Promise," she confirmed as a small glow went through her moon ring. The trio shared a smile as Ondina and Weilan looked on. Mimmi took a step back towards Ondina and Weilan and then took the shell again.

"Okay." Zac and Evie looked to each other and spoke simultaneously. "We wish things back the way they were." There was a flash of light as they finished speaking which caused them to close their eyes briefly. When they opened them, they stood alone.

CHCHCH

"School used to be a breeze," Zac sighed. "I played all the time. Life was pretty good as a kid," he commented. Evie laughed lightly in agreement. "I wish you could–" Zac was suddenly cut off as he found a hand over his mouth. He and Evie gave Ondina a questioning look.

"Be careful what you wish for," she said, slowly pulling her hand back

Zac and Evie turned around to look at Ondina, Mimmi, and Weilan completely dumbfounded.

"Um, what exactly did we miss?" Evie asked.

Mimmi moved to set the shell down on the coffee table. "Do you feel all right?"

"Yeah," Zac spoke, Evie nodded in agreement while both furrowed their brows.

"No memory of anything weird happening?" Weilan questioned.

"No," Zac and Evie answered slowly. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Ondina answered as Carly knocked on the door; Cam stood behind he as he held her hand,

"Hey guys," Carly greeted.

"We were hoping to find you here. We're going to catch a movie and came to see if you wanted to come with us."

"Sounds good. What do you think, Zac?"

"I think we can put the Chemistry assignment on hold for a little while longer. What movie?"

"It's a sci-fi," Carly explained. " _The Time Traveler_."

"We'll pass," Ondina spoke a minute later after looking to Mimmi and Weilan. The two couples shrugged as everyone headed out.

CHCHCH

Zac and Evie were staring down Evie's yard when Carly approached them. "Zac, Evie, what are you doing over here?"

"I– I don't know," Evie answered, coming out of a daze.

"Your dad was just getting the cake. Can't have the cake without the birthday girl. Come on." Carly held her hand out to Evie who held her hand out to Zac. The three friends walked back to the party together.

 **A/N:** I wanted to give Evie a bigger role in the rewrite than she had in the original, especially since she was hardly in the original at all, which is why I have her be there with Zac in both cases rather than Zac being on his own. I also figured that if Evie had a bigger role to play, Carly would as well seeing as how they're best friends.

Thanks once again for the reviews, favorites, and follows. I appreciate them all. I'd love to hear from you about what was handled well and what you thought could have been better both concerning the way I carried out the rewrite, and my writing in general.

I'm not sure when I'll next be able to update, as I have to watch Lost and Found yet, but hopefully I can do that soon and not leave a large gap between these two chapters.

Thanks for reading,

-CrazyHayniac


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